The National Defense Strategy Draft Discussed at the Ministry of Defense

CHISINAU, July 29, 2016 — Today, the Committee responsible for the development of the National Defense Strategy (NDS) approved the first version of the NDS draft, during a meeting held at the Ministry of Defense.

Minister of Defense, Anatol Salaru, chairperson of the Committee, congratulated the military and civil experts on being able to cooperate, discuss, and develop a document that describes and leads the entire national defense system, thus proving that the Moldovan institutions have mutual goals and interests.

“The NDS is a new and courageous document that identifies the ways to renew a hibernating defense system. It must become the key-document that makes the subject of defense a point of interest for more than just a small part of our nation. Moldova’s citizens must know that there is a mechanism that ensures a quiet and secure life”, said the Minister of Defense.

The leader of the strategic defense reformation team, responsible for the implementation of the DCBI assistance package, Keith A. Dunn, said that the document was developed in a very short period, because the representatives of the 23 ministries and institutions, who are part of the working group, joined their efforts and demonstrated a high level of professionalism.

According to State Secretary of the Ministry of Defense, Aurel Fondos, the document was written by the cross-institutional working group consisting of representatives of the Supreme Security Council, Parliament, Government, central and local public authorities, civil society, and academic environment with responsibilities in the defense sector.

Aurel Fondos specified that, in September, the final project of the NDS will be submitted for approval to the Committee members, after analyzing the experts’ recommendations.

The Committee on NDS was established based on Decree of the President of the Republic of Moldova as of May 13, 2016 and is responsible to develop and submit to the President the NDS draft. For the development of the document, the Committee designated a cross-institutional working group.